All You Wanted
by MidnightMoon2005
Summary: Follow up to Lost and Found. They found a victim in pieces, who is it and why was he murdered? TATE
1. Chapter 1

Tony walked out of the building just behind Kate; doing his best not to stare at her in that orange dress. He'd had the same problem the first time he saw her in it.

_"Is there a problem, DiNozzo?"_ _Gibbs asked, in a threatening tone._

_"No…not at all…this is just a far cry from what I'm used to seeing Agent Todd dressed up in," he had said._

He smiled to himself; suddenly Kate turned and faced him.

"I swear to God, DiNozzo, if I catch you staring I will slap you."

He held up his hands in a gesture to surrender. She was in a hell of a mood today…but then again; with the scene they had to inspect it was bound to make everyone a little touchy.

"Let me make it up to you Kate…" Tony said.

Kate looked at him, her frustration evident, "Not gonna happen."

"What…what do you think I was gonna suggest?"

"Don't care; I don't have the patience for it today or tonight…"

"Well I know you don't have anything better to do than sit on the couch watching Sunday night primetime **and **late night TV eating junk food…which by the way I would think would get in the way of your yoga practice…" Tony said, flashing her a knowing look.

"Wow…we've been working too long together…fine…name your plan…I'll cooperate if I must…" Kate said, surrendering.

"All I want to do is take you out to dinner to take your mind off the grizzly scene we saw earlier," he said, "I would say lunch…but I don't know if you'll be able to eat anything."

She looked at him and rolled her eyes. Sometimes she had no resistance to his remarks, especially when she knew they were true. Without saying a word she got out of the car and walked towards her apartment.

"So is that a yes?" he asked, flashing that smile he had that would make the ordinary woman weak in the knees.

"Yea, DiNozzo, you've left me no choice," Kate said, sarcastically.

"Pick you up at 8…wear whatever you want, not going anywhere special," he called, from the driver's seat of his car.


	2. Chapter 2

With her second shower of the day, Kate finally felt like the day had been washed away. DiNozzo's words echoed in her mind, _"Wear whatever you want…"_ She walked to her closet and picked what she thought would be the last thing he'd be expecting. Scanning her closet she couldn't find anything that didn't scream out "_work_" to her. The last item in her closet caught her eye; a classic black dress, silky to the touch. It was the one item that didn't say work to her and she wouldn't have it any other way. The sound of the doorbell made her jump; shocked to find it was already 8 o' clock. Taking one last breath, Kate opened the door.

"Wow…didn't know you had anything like this in your closet, Agent Todd," Tony said looking at her.

"That was the point…" Kate said, smiling smugly.

"Ohhh…trying to impress me?" Tony asked surprise evident in his voice. Kate grabbed her jacket and walked out of her apartment.

"No…" she said turning around and elbowing him in the stomach in one swift move.


	3. Chapter 3

"Here is your table," the hostess said, "someone will be around shortly to take your drink order."

"Thank you," Tony said sitting down right away. He looked up from his menu to see Kate getting comfortable; removing her jacket and smoothing her dress in the front. He sensed the same look that had gotten him in trouble many times today spread across his face; he quickly reminded himself that he didn't want another elbow in his ribs.

"What are you smiling at?" Kate asked, finally sitting down.

"Oh, nothing, just thinking about all the different fairy tales that must be out there that we don't know," Tony said.

Kate looked at him and rolled her eyes, "My god Tony, can't you let that go?"

"No, it's so fascinating…" Tony said, as if he was thinking aloud.

"It must appeal to your immature side…" Kate said picking up her menu scanning it for the ideal drink.

"Ha…you know I'm charming…why else would you put up with me for so long?" Tony asked grinning at her obvious frustration. He didn't know why but something about how easily he got under her skin made her that much more fun to be around.

"I put up with you because Gibbs makes me," Kate said flatly; looking up to see a faux "I'm so hurt" look plastered on his face in the dim light.

"We both know that's not true," Tony said looking straight in her eyes. Suddenly she felt her face flush; thanking the decorators for making it nearly impossible for him to notice.

"What do you think about Abby and McGee?" Tony asked; after the waitress left. They'd placed their orders and Kate found herself wondering how long they would have to wait.

"What do you mean?" she asked, wondering if this was one of his jokes or if he was going to be serious for once.

"Well, working under Gibbs, I've always though combining personal and professional affairs to be well…something you shouldn't consider," Tony said, taking a sip of his drink.

"Well…I see what you mean about Gibbs, but don't you think if you really liked the person and really cared for them it would be worth it?" Kate questioned, resting her chin in her hand. Kate finished her drink and motioned to the waitress to bring her another; she wondered what was going through his head, why he was asking about Abby and McGee. Most times his small talk consisted of action movie plots, almost all of which starred Clint Eastwood or John Wayne.

"Penny for your thoughts?" Tony asked, studying his co-worker's face; she appeared to be lost in thought and he wanted to know what she was thinking about. He felt butterflies in his stomach as the thought that she may be thinking about him crossed his mind.

"What? Oh…no…wasn't thinking about anything special," Kate said, snapping from her dreamlike state. She knew very well that she'd just lied. She was sitting there looking at her partner of two years and suddenly tonight he was different. She knew he was attractive, always getting numbers, always getting on her nerves. What changed? He was arguably her type; but she was smart enough to know that he wasn't mentally mature enough to be the guy for her.

"You liar…" he accused smiling, "You just drifted off on me again, what are you thinking about?"

"Nothing important…just you seem different tonight…" she said.

"In a good way or in a way that makes you want to elbow me more?" Tony asked, unable to hide his smile.

For the first time that day she felt a genuine smile spread across her face, "a little of both actually." To her surprise she looked down at another empty glass and motioned to the waitress to bring her another. A few minutes later she arrived with the drink and their food.

"I'd like another too when you get the chance," Tony said handing the waitress his empty beer glass.

"So, what about you?" Tony asked.

"What about me?" Kate questioned.

"Would you risk pissing off your boss for a romance inside the work place? Hypothetically of course…" Tony suggested.

Kate couldn't help but laugh to herself, "No sadly, I swore off romance until I got to where I wanted to be with my life and career."

"Aren't you already there?" Tony asked, "You're a tough woman, Kate, and I really admire you for putting up with being the only woman in the office… I know I'm not the easiest guy be around."

"Tony, you seem to forget that I was with the Secret Service." she took a deep swallow of the drink and was beginning to feel the warmth flooding her veins, "And technically speaking I work with two men and a boy. I think I can handle that after growing up with 3 brothers."

The waitress brought their check and Tony grabbed the bill before Kate had a chance to react; whipped out his credit card and handed it back to the waitress.

"Wow…paying for dinner…is this a date?" Kate asked sarcastically.

"Only if you want it to be…" Tony said, signing the receipt.

"Smooth DiNozzo…real smooth," Kate said, getting up and putting her jacket around her shoulders.


	4. Chapter 4

The ride home was silent except for a few words exchanged about how neither of them had seen the other so free. When they arrived at Kate's apartment, it was quite obvious to Tony that she would need assistance making it to the door. Instinctively, he slipped an arm around her waist, guiding her up the stairs. When in front of her door, she turned to face him, her eyes still averted looking down at her keys.

"Thanks for dinner," Kate said, looking up into his eyes, "I needed it."

"I know," Tony said, "that's what I'm here for, someone to take you out when you're bored out of your mind."

"Oh come on Tony, don't say that…" she said, playfully hitting him in the arm, "you're one of the best friends I've got right now."

"You too…" Tony whispered, kissing her lightly on the forehead. He looked in her eyes and the butterflies he'd felt earlier that night came fluttering back. Without thinking he dipped his head down and caught her lips in a soft kiss. As soon as it happened, he was shocked back to reality and pulled away.

"Kate…I'm sorry…" he began but was silenced; surprised to find that she'd felt the same the whole time. He felt her hands slide around his neck and play with the ends of his hair; every touch making him feel lightheaded. Her scent was intoxicating, every second that passed the more he craved it. With every touch Kate felt a fire re-ignite within that she'd suppressed many years ago. As time passed her knees grew weaker and weaker; he was like an addiction she never knew she needed.

"Now that's a way to say goodnight…" Tony said brushing the hair away that had fallen in Kate's face. He pulled her close; kissing her cheek quickly. They stood there holding each other for what seemed like an eternity; Tony backed away first taking both her hands in his and squeezing them gently.

"I'll see you tomorrow," he said.

"See you…" she said, unlocking her door and stepping in.

Tony drove back to his house on autopilot; unable to stop the night from replaying in his mind. He remembered how she looked when he pulled up to her building, and more than anything he remembered what it felt like to hold her close. Suddenly he felt her feather-light touches again and the butterflies rushed back. The thought of this happening had crossed his mind, but he always figured nothing could, would or should happen; until he discovered she'd been thinking the same way the whole time. He smiled to himself remembering the look in her eyes; she'd managed to look happy and confused at the same time. He walked through his apartment, heading straight to bed; he could hardly wait to go to work the next morning.


	5. Chapter 5

Kate walked down the corridor to Abby's lab; Gibbs had told her to stay with her while she ran the necessary DNA tests on the material from the day before. As she neared the sliding glass doors she heard Abby's familiar punk music blaring from the speakers of her stereo in the corner.

"Hey Abby," Kate said, "What've you found so far?"

"Haven't had much of chance to find anything yet…the pantry remains are really tough to make any progress with, no defining characteristics," Abby explained.

"Well yea, I would imagine…do we know how long either of them had been there?" Kate asked, pushing the images of the scene away from her mind.

"Must've been quite a scene you guys found…" Abby said, unclear whether she was talking to herself or to Kate.

"Yea…it was this abandoned restaurant…a body, petty Officer Larsen," Kate said, sighing, doing her best to fight the scene's images from rushing back to her again, "then that…I got splattered with the victim's blood…the one we found in pieces."

"That must've been great…" Abby said, sarcastically.

"Ha…yea…I was really nauseous after that…" Kate said, now remembering all she'd forced herself to block out, "luckily Gibbs let us take a car back to the office so I could shower…"

"Us? Who's 'us'?" Abby asked, her curiosity peaking.

"Tony drove me back," Kate said, feeling her face flush at the thought of him; remembering the electric kiss goodnight they'd had.

Abby laughed, "Obviously something more happened than him driving you to the office…look at you, you're totally blushing."

Kate's mind raced for logical responses to Abby's comment, but nothing seemed logical or believable, at this realization she swore the shade of pink on her cheeks deepened. She didn't want to tell anyone about last night, but she knew she could trust Abby; they were in a similar situation.

"Come on spill it…there's nothing wrong with mixing your job with your personal life, just knowing Gibbs you better do your best to keep them separate," Abby said.

"How do you handle it?" Kate asked, looking to her friend for help.

"What do you mean?" Abby asked.

"You and McGee…I know you two are a bit of an item…" Kate whispered.

"No we're not…we considered, but decided we're better doing the friend's thing…" Abby said.

"Oh…well…" Kate said, fumbling for words for what she needed to say next.

"Did something big happen last night with you two?" Abby said, her eyes widening.

"Yes…" Kate admitted, nodding.

"Get out! Really?" Abby exclaimed, "this is HUGE…so what happened, and how?"

"Well…not sure how it happened," Kate began, "he insisted on taking me to dinner…I guess you could say we flirted a little bit…but no more than usual."

"Ok…so he _insisted_ you say? And nothing happened until after dinner…ok go on…" Abby said, as if she was trying to imprint these facts into her memory.

"I might've had a drink or two too many yesterday…" Kate continued, only to be cut off by Abby.

"You're not passing this off on 'alcoholic effects' are you? Are you guys gonna go for it?" Abby asked.

"I think we are…I haven't even had a chance to talk to him yet…" Kate began her memory drifting.

"What happened…how'd he kiss you? Was that all?" Abby asked.

"Yes, Abby…that was all that happened…well a couple of times…" Kate said, the pink quickly returning to her cheeks, "he was just saying goodnight, and I guess felt a strong attraction…"

"What'd you do?" Abby asked, knowing that it was out of character for Kate to _not_ elbow DiNozzo after something like that.

"I actually kissed him back," Kate admitted softly, a giggle escaping her lips, "I never thought I'd react so strongly to him…"

"React so strongly to who?" McGee asked walking through the doors to the lab.

"Ooh…she went out with Tony last night…" Abby said.

McGee immediately caught on, "you and Tony?" A look of bewilderment passed over his face.

"Yes, that's right McGee, they went out to dinner now they're unafraid to mix business with pleasure a bit," Abby said, resting her elbow on McGee's shoulder; both of them staring at her.

"Yes, yes, now you both know, I'd appreciate it if we could keep this from Gibbs a bit longer," Kate said, "can you two do that for me?"

"Sure, no problem," they both said, nodding in agreement.

"Speaking of Gibbs, Kate, he's been wondering what you're doing," McGee said.

"Yea, I was going to head up there fairly soon," Kate said, turning to walk out the lab. Kate turned to head toward the elevator only to bump into Tony on the way.

"Hey there, was just down here to look for you, Gibbs wants at least two of us up on the floor," Tony said.

"Yea, so I heard, McGee told me," Kate said, melting into his arms.

"You know…I think we should decide what the next step is…for us…" Tony said, drawing circles on her back. Kate felt her focus slip away as memories of the night before came rushing back to her.

"Well…the main thing is not to hurry it I think," Kate said, looking up at him, "how 'bout dinner again?"

"Tonight?" Tony asked.

"Sure…" Kate said, "my treat this time."

"If you insist, you know I'd never turn down a free meal," Tony said smiling, suddenly he was aware that McGee and Abby were spying, "we've got company."

"Oh?" Kate asked, looking around spotting Abby and McGee's smiling faces, "yea…those two…they know…"

"Know? How?" Tony asked.

"Well I'm close to Abby…I tell her everything…and McGee walked in while we were still talking," Kate said, as they walked to a place where they couldn't be spotted from the lab.

"They're not gonna tell Gibbs are they?" Tony asked, "I don't think he'd be too thrilled…"

"Nah…I made them promise they wouldn't," Kate said, as Tony put his hand on her cheek. Instinctively she leaned into his warmth; smiling at her action he drew her closer kissing her softly. Slowly the world faded away and no one else but the two of them existed in the blurry atmosphere. Kate pulled away; suddenly alert that they were at work and Gibbs could walk out of the elevator at any moment.

"Tony…" she said, obviously short of breath, "Gibbs could walk out of the elevator at any moment."

"Very true," he said, kissing her quickly one more time they headed up to the main floor holding hands.


	6. Chapter 6

McGee sat in Abby's lab, baffled by the news he'd just heard. Tony and Kate, together…how…why had it happened?

"McGee…" Abby said, "MCGEE!"

"Yea, what?" McGee said, snapping out of his thoughts.

"What are you thinking about?" Abby asked, "you've totally drifted off on me."

"Thinking about how Tony and Kate are gonna keep this secret from Gibbs…" McGee said.

"They'll figure out something…and we can't tell anyone, no one…" Abby said, eyeing McGee, knowing that he doesn't like keeping secrets from Gibbs.

"Yea, I know they'll figure something out, but I think he should know," McGee said, flatly.

"Ohhh…so you're planning on telling him?" Abby taunted, "I wouldn't, and we both know Kate will kick your ass if you do."

"I think I could beat her at sparring, I think I could win," McGee said, doing his best to convince Abby and himself.

"Ha, yea right, I heard about the last time you two sparred in the gym, she totally pinned you down and you couldn't move," Abby said laughing. McGee was out of comebacks, he knew Abby was right and remained silent.

"Hey, McGee, I think you should look at this," Abby said, pointing to the screen on the wall of her lab.

"Don't think I can help you there Abby…that's your area not mine," McGee said.

"Oh, come on McGee, you know you like science and know the basics," Abby retorted.

"What are we looking at?" McGee asked.

"John Doe's blood, I just ran a DNA match test…it's a near perfect match with a Mr. Joseph M. Todd…" Abby said.

"Joseph Todd? As in Kate's brother?" McGee asked in disbelief.

"That's what I'm thinking, I didn't find this DNA in the Navy files, I found it through the US Government, they must've joined the Secret Service together," Abby explained to McGee who was still staring at the results with a shocked look painted on his face.

"So who's going to have to tell her?" McGee asked.

"Go tell Gibbs and have Kate meet him in a conference room," Abby said.

"Ok," McGee said, turning to head up to the main floor.

"Poor, poor Katie…" Abby said, continuing running tests.


	7. Chapter 7

McGee emerged on the main floor, unsure of how to tell Gibbs. He knew that Gibbs just liked straight facts, no fluff, and that's how he intended to tell him. He spotted Gibbs behind his desk flipping through a file.

"Hey, boss, Abby found the identity of the John Doe from yesterday," McGee began.

"And..?" Gibbs asked, growing irritated at McGee's uncertainty.

"And…well…we're pretty sure it's Kate's brother, Joseph…" McGee said, trailing off. Gibbs shifted his sight to Kate's desk; she was bent over a file, studying every last fact.

"Yea, that would be correct McGee, that's one of her brothers…so the logical guess is that the girl there was involved in some way with him," Gibbs said.

"How are you going to tell her?" McGee asked.

"You just get back to work and let me worry about that," Gibbs said, walking over to Kate's desk.

Sensing eyes watching her, Kate tore her attention away from the information in the file to find her boss looking at her.

"Yes?" she said her weariness evident in her voice.

"Abby has confirmed the identity of the remains we found yesterday…meet me in the conference room in five minutes," Gibbs said.


	8. Chapter 8

Gibbs paced the conference room; not knowing what to say to the agent that would meet him there in seconds. Her brother had been murdered then brutally dismembered and left for them to find. There was one thing he was certain of; whoever did it, knew who he was, and who would find both victims.

"You wanted to see me boss?" Kate asked, opening the conference room door.

"Come in," Gibbs began, "you better sit down."

"What's going on?" Kate asked, sitting in one of the chairs around the table. Before he continued Gibbs took the seat across from her.

"Abby identified the remains we found in the pantry," Gibbs began.

"That's good right…" Kate said, eyeing her boss suspiciously, "why are you looking at me that way?"

"Well…it is…but it turns out it's someone close to home," Gibbs said, his voice dropping. Kate's throat went dry; she couldn't comprehend who it could be, what did "close to home mean"?

"Who is it?" Kate managed to choke out.

"Well…" Gibbs said, unable think of the right words, "it was someone related to you, Kate."

Kate's mind and body went numb, and tears had already begun forming in her eyes, threatening to fall.

"Who?" was the only word she could manage to get out.

"Joseph…" Gibbs said. At that moment a chain reaction began within Kate. She wanted to scream, cry and kill whoever did this all at the same time. Before she knew it she could hardly breathe. She tried standing but her legs gave out on her and Gibbs rushed to catch her before she fell. She gasped for air as tears streamed down her cheeks.

"Why…" was all she could think of to say; she knew that this job came with a list of risks, but she never dreamed someone would want to hurt her through her family.

"Kate," Gibbs began, "if you want to be excused from this case, we will totally understand…"

"NO, I want to kill the sick bastard that did this to him," Kate said, cutting Gibbs off.

"Ok…" Gibbs said nodding, walking out of the room, leaving Kate to deal with the thoughts racing through her mind. As he exited the room, he saw Tony approaching him.

"Where's Kate?" Tony asked.

"She's in there…" Gibbs said.

"Ok…" Tony said opening the door without looking back. He saw Kate standing in the corner, and noticed she was shaking. He walked up to her quietly and slowly trying not to scare her. When he touched her shoulder she jumped; when she turned and saw him there she fell into his arms.

"Tony…Joe…he's gone…he was…" she said between sobs, "he was the one we found…in pieces."

"Shhhh…we'll find whoever did this," he said, his throat dry, "he'll regret the minute he decided to murder your brother."

Kate tried to smile, wiping away the tears as best as she could. When Tony reached to brush the hair from her face, she turned away. It was a simple action but it put a whole in his heart.

"Kate…don't…" Tony said, beginning to feel tears in his own eyes.

"I know you want to be here for me…I just can't be with you like that right now. There's a lot that was thrown on my plate just now," Kate said, fresh tears threatening to fall from her eyes. He nodded slowly knowing she could take care of herself. Unable to think of anything more to say that would comfort her he turned and left the room.


	9. Chapter 9

Tony came out of the elevator going to his desk to grab the last items he'd need for the night. He looked up to see Kate still hard at work reading the same file for the hundredth time that day. Gibbs was worried about her, not taking any time to think about her brother, not taking any time to mourn; he wanted Tony to watch over her at night to make sure she didn't try anything stupid.

"You ready to go, Kate?" Tony asked, approaching her desk.

"Huh? Yea…" Kate said, closing the file. Grabbing her jacket she rose meeting Tony's gaze before heading to the elevator. They stood side by side in the elevator in silence; neither of them wanting to talk or knowing what to say. When they walked through the parking lot, Tony put a hand on her shoulder, guiding her towards his car.

"You're coming to my place tonight," Tony said, kissing her lightly on the cheek.

"Did Gibbs put you up to this?" Kate asked looking at him, the fire evident in her eyes.

"Well…he suggested it…" Tony admitted.

"Perfect…" Kate said, rolling her eyes sitting in the passenger's seat.

"No…it wasn't entirely his idea," Tony said, trying to convince her, "I would've stayed with you anyway."

Kate smiled as best she could, knowing he really meant what he'd said. Not knowing what to say, she shifted her gaze up to the stars, counting them, to relax her mind. Before she knew it, Tony had stopped the car and they were at his apartment, the drive went faster than she'd anticipated. Without a word, Tony got out of the car and opened Kate's door. He took her hand as they walked up to the door.

"Thank you for doing this, Tony," Kate said, trying to make her true appreciation heard.

"Kate…it's really not a problem, you know I love you," as soon as he said the words, his breath caught in his throat, "as a friend and co-worker."

"You know, you really aren't a bad guy," she said, feeling the first genuine smile of the day spread across her face.

"Awww…thanks…" Tony said, sarcastically.

"No, DiNozzo I mean it…really…" Kate said pulling him close to her. Taking her signal, he put his hand on her cheek tilting her chin upwards and kissed her. Pulling back he unlocked the door and pulled her inside with him. Hungry to be close to her, he kissed her again, deeper than before, slipping his hands around her waist pulling her even closer. He felt her fall against him, as if she was surrendering her grasp on reality. Soon he was fighting for control, he didn't want a kiss to get carried away; but the world around him was starting to blur. He lowered his lips to the edge of her jaw line, showering the area with light kisses trailing to her collar bone; encouraged by the low growl that escaped her lips, he bit at her collar bone gently.

Kate gasped at the feel of his teeth at her neck. She had lost herself in the moment, and now felt groggy with desire. She knew what would happen next if she didn't bring them both back to reality; she didn't want it to happen now.

"Tony…not right now," she whispered, looking into his eyes which were now dancing.

"Yea…ok…you're right," he said, kissing her cheek quickly. He took her hand in his and squeezed it lightly before walking to the kitchen.

"While we're on the subject," Kate began, walking to the kitchen, "I wanted to talk about…well just talk before we get to that point."

"Kate," Tony began, "you need to learn to let go of certain things."

"Yea, yea…I know…just I know your reputation just as well as every other girl within a thirty mile radius," Kate began, fidgeting with her jacket, "and…I don't want to be just some girl…"

"Kate…you could _never_ be just some girl I pick-up at the bar…I don't want that to be the way it is," Tony said, cutting her off.

"Thank you…" Kate said, smiling.

"Can I offer you something to drink?" Tony asked, "after today I know I sure need one to unwind."

"What do you have?" Kate asked.

"Depends on what you want," Tony said, pulling out two glasses.

"Well…do you have any scotch?" she asked.

"I believe so…how do you like it?" Tony inquired, pulling the bottle from the cabinet.

"Neat…" Kate said, glancing out the window.

Kate looked back at Tony to find him looking back at her, his eyebrow slightly raised, "Neat huh? Yea…I don't blame you."

"It's been quite a day," Kate began, "I don't think I would've gotten through it without you guys."

"Well, you composed yourself really well earlier today, studying those files; you looked so focused, no one wanted to bug you," Tony said, smiling.

"Yea…well…it wasn't the easiest thing to do. I doubt I remember much information from the files," Kate said, swirling the contents of the glass in her hand.

"Don't sell yourself short, you just found your brother…" Tony began.

"Tony…don't. I'd like to get through the rest of the night without the haunting image of his remains resting in that dark pantry," Kate said, rubbing her temples; driving the stress away for the night.

"Kate, turn around," Tony said.

"Why?" Kate asked, eyeing him skeptically.

"Just trust me," Tony said.

With a sigh Kate turned around, "you better, not try anything funny."

Suddenly unsure of what to do next, Tony placed his hands softly on her shoulders; he felt her tense at his touch.

"I just want to help you get rid of some of the stress from today…that's all," Tony whispered in her ear.

Not knowing professional way masseuses give neck rubs, he began a kneading motion in small circles. He increased pressure as he found tension; willing it away. Feeling the area relax, he moved his hands towards the edges of her shoulders, continuing the same motion.

Kate felt her shoulders relax under his touch; allowing her head to fall forward slightly. The warmth of his hands seemed to burn through the tension of her neck and shoulders; with every touch the images of the day seemed to melt away. Every image except for that one kiss just minutes before. With every thought that raced through her mind, she felt her knees grow weak. Just as she felt like she would fall down, Tony stepped closer to her.

"Maybe we ought to get you into bed," Tony said, feeling Kate's knees weaken.

"Yea, you're probably right," Kate said, yawning, "lead me to your bed."

"I thought you'd never ask," Tony said, smiling.


	10. Chapter 10

The next morning the alarm in Tony's apartment went off; Tony groaned and reached to shut it off. He shifted his weight to find Kate was already up. Noticing the sound of running water, he decided to find something to eat. Turning on the bedside light, he spotted sweatpants thrown haphazardly over the chair; pulling them on he headed to the kitchen, knowing full well that toast was all he had to offer Kate for breakfast. Kate shut off the water; and grabbed the towel on the nearby rack. Entering the room she winced at the awful sound coming from the kitchen.

"What is that god awful noise, DiNozzo?" Kate asked, grabbing her clothes from the day before.

"Making coffee…" Tony said stopping the grinder just long enough to answer.

"Sounds like you're trying to grind metal," Kate muttered, rolling her eyes.

"Is toast alright for breakfast Kate?" Tony asked.

"Sure, I never eat much myself anyway," Kate said. She finished dressing and headed towards the kitchen. Pushing the door open, she stood stunned then continued into the kitchen watching his every move.

"Not bad, DiNozzo…" Kate said a sly smile playing at the corner of her lips.

"Me or my impressive cooking skills?" Tony asked, his tone laced with sarcasm; raising an eyebrow.

"Wouldn't you like to know," Kate said, putting a piece of bread in the toaster for herself. She looked back at him; smiling slightly when she saw him still watching her. Stepped close to him running her fingertips lightly down his arm; looking in his eyes she kissed him softly.

That small action was all it took to send his control out the window. He stepped closer to her, wrapping his arms around her waist, lifting her slightly. He nibbled at her bottom lip, until she gave in. He slipped entirely into the moment enjoying every touch and the mint taste of Scope that remained from Kate rinsing her mouth minutes ago. Encouraged by her response to his every touch, he slipped his hands underneath her jacket and pushed it off her shoulders. Quickly his hands moved to the bottom of her shirt ready to pull it over her head; suddenly the smell of burnt toast filled the air.

"TONY…look what you made me do!" Kate scolded; unable to contain her laughter.

"Well you know what they say…it takes two to tango, Kate," Tony said.

"Yea, I know...you're so irresistible you made me burn my breakfast..." Kate said, smiling.

"Really? Me? Irresistible?" Tony asked; not sure if he could believe what he was hearing.

"No..." Kate said, moving to pick up her jacket, "I'm gonna make another piece of toast, and you better get ready, Gibbs won't like us if we're late."

"Yea, I hear you," Tony said, heading to take a shower.


	11. Chapter 11

The next morning Tony and Kate exited the elevator together, facing another day. Tony faced Kate, taking both her hands in his.

"I'll be right here for you, just buzz me if you need anything," Tony said, looking directly into Kate's eyes; trying to make his point.

"Ok," Kate said, taking a shaky breath. Instinctively, Tony took Kate into his arms, kissing her forehead quickly. He squeezed her hands gently before heading to his desk.

"DiNozzo…you and Kate seem to be awfully close," Gibbs said, without even looking up from his desk.

"Well boss, she just found her brother in pieces, I had to step in as the friend, she doesn't know a lot of people outside of work," Tony explained, not missing a beat.

"Ok," Gibbs said, looking directly at Tony; testing his reason.

Kate walked into the same conference room where Gibbs delivered the news to her; and now she had to dump it on someone else. She had to call her family and tell them that Joseph had been killed, that she had no idea who did it, when or why. She stood studying the phone, the words between Gibbs and her replaying in her mind. _"Joseph"_ was all it took. One simple word and her world came crumbling down. Trying to calm the emotions rushing through her being, she picked up the phone and dialed her parents' number.

"Mom?" Kate asked, unable to hide the emotion in her voice.

"Katie…what's wrong? You sound awful," Kate's mom asked.

"I've got bad news…" Kate began.

That's all her mother needed to hear, she immediately cut her off, "Katie…I told you government work isn't safe…"

"Mother…nothing's wrong with me…" Kate said, taking a shaky breath, "it's Joey…"

Kate could hear her mother fall apart, but not in the same way. She had spent most of her life growing up wishing for the strength her mother had, and she still didn't feel like she had the same amount.

"He's dead isn't he?" she asked, and immediately Kate got a chill. She knew. How could she? Must be the mother's instinct; everyone always told her it's something only mother's understand. Suddenly she heard a knock; and looked up to see Gibbs standing in the doorway.

"Mom…could you hold on a second?" Kate asked.

"I hate to interrupt you Kate, but we've got a lead…turns out the owner's of the building might know something," Gibbs said.

"Mom, I'm gonna have to call you back, we've got something to follow-up on here," Kate said, wiping away the few tears that had fallen from her eyes.

"Ok…I love you, be careful, I can't lose two children in twenty-four hours," her mom said, hanging up.

"What do we know so far?" Kate asked, following Gibbs out of the conference room.

"The owner's are reporting questionable activity in the building," Gibbs said.

"Anything else?" Kate asked, hoping that that wasn't all they knew; following Gibbs onto the elevator.

"That's why you're coming with me to interrogate them," Gibbs said as the doors closed.


	12. Chapter 12

The morning sun baked the gravel road as they rolled along, tipping slightly with the occasional bump. The lead they were following was an older couple that held the deed to the building they'd found the bodies. They had come forward when Gibbs was following up on some background research on the victim's location. A house appeared around the corner as they continued down the dirt road. Gibbs and Kate got out of the car, pushing the doors closed they looked at the house; shielding their eyes from the sun.

"Can I help you?" the older woman asked, opening the front door.

"Yes, Special Agents Gibbs, Todd, NCIS, we're here to ask you about the restaurant," Gibbs said, flashing both sides of his badge.

"I don't know if I have anything useful to tell you…but I'll answer your questions," the woman explained.

"Anything you know will help," Kate said, following the woman into her home. The woman's home was cluttered and the smell of cat food lingered in the air.

"Mrs. Cadwell, we understand that there's been some interest in a restaurant you hold the deed to," Gibbs began.

"Please, call me Marg," the older woman said, interrupting Gibbs' train of thought, "and yes there was a sudden interest in that building."

"Did you ever see this person?" Kate asked, taking a seat on the worn down couch.

"No…I only spoke on the phone with him," Marg began, "my husband, Doug, always met with the potential tenants."

"Did he ever tell you what this man was like?" Gibbs asked, immediately noting that she was sure it was a male tenant.

"No…he never said anything about the person, I don't even know if it was the same person I talked with," Marg explained.

"Ok…can you tell us about the man you talked with on the phone that day?" Gibbs asked, determined to get something of use from this woman.

"He definitely had an accent…very noticeable," Marg said, trying her best to recall the call.

"Ok, thank you Mrs. Cadwell…is your husband around? I would like to talk with him then we'll be out of your hair," Kate said, standing up.

"Yes, I believe he's out in the back doing some yard work," Marg said, "I'm sure he'll gladly help."

"Ok, thank you ma'am," Kate said, reaching into her jacket, grabbing a NCIS card, "you can call us here if you think of anything."

Gibbs followed Kate out to the yard, into the burning sun which was now over head.

"May I ask why you felt the need to leave the room so abruptly?" Gibbs asked irritation evident in his voice.

"I think this was something Ari put together, he got all these people involved, making it impossible to pin it solely on him; logically speaking of course," Kate said.

"Kate…I know you _hate_ Ari, I don't think there's a single person that doesn't working at NCIS, but you can't just pin it on the people you hate, it would be too easy," Gibbs said, "I know this is personal, it makes you feel like he's got a conspiracy against you and your family…and to be honest I think Mrs. Cadwell has more to say."

"Damn it Gibbs, she doesn't know anything more than we just got out of her, she said her husband handles the business side of the building, he picks the tenants," Kate said, "and what if I'm right, what if this is a master-mind plan put in motion by Ari…I want to stop him for good."

"Ok, let's just find Mr. Cadwell and see what we can get out of him," Gibbs said. They walked up the grassy hill, most of which was dead towards what appeared to be a barn resting on the top of the small hill. As they approached they heard the sounds of horses within the doors.

Gibbs reached out and knocked twice, "Mr. Cadwell…are you in here?"

There was a subdued rustling and then the sound of the doors being unlocked. Soon the two of them were face –to-face with the perfect East coast cowboy. Short, in blue jean overalls, plaid shirt and a straw cowboy hat covering what appeared to be a balding scalp.

"Can I help you two?" the man asked.

"Are you a Mr. Doug Cadwell?" Kate asked.

"Why, yes, yes I am," He said, taking off his cowboy hat, whipping the sweat from his head, "can I help you two with something?"

"Special Agents Gibbs, Todd," Gibbs said; flashing both sides of his badge the second time that day.

"Oh yes, Marg mentioned you might be stopping by," he said, a slight tension throughout his body was evident.

"Has there been anything suspicious going on at 1432 Liberty Avenue, anything you can think of?" Gibbs asked, eyeing the cowboy in front of him.

"Well…a few weeks ago a man called into the office with some interest in the property, something about wanting to open his own restaurant," Doug explained, "why…did something happen?"

"Yes, Mr. Cadwell, something did happen, we found my brother **and** his girlfriend murdered there," Kate said, losing control of her temper.

"Can you tell us anything about the men you were in contact with?" Gibbs asked.

"I didn't really have much contact with them, I wasn't even sure it was more than one man," Doug began, clearing his throat, "I don't really deal with showing property, so I only saw one of the people once in the office, just in passing."

"Ok…well…if you remember what this mystery person looked like at all, give me a call," Gibbs said, handing him a card. They both turned and walked away, heading back to the car; neither saying a word. Kate knew she made an error, no agent was supposed to let a case get personal, no matter how personal it really was.

Gibbs reached into his pocket and pulled out the car remote to unlock the doors. He knew Kate was under a lot of stress; but they couldn't handle anything like that happening again. It was bad enough to not know anything, much less their leads not knowing much either.

"You need to keep your emotions in control Kate," Gibbs said, his anger evident, "we can't let an agent's thoughts get in the way; it's bad enough that we don't' know anything about the team that did this. If this happens again, you'll be behind your desk, off this case entirely. Understood?"

"Understood…won't happen again," Kate said, turning to Gibbs, "What's the next step?"

"We go back to the office and run a background check on the whole family, I get the feeling Doug is hiding something," Gibbs said, turning back onto the main road.


	13. Chapter 13

As Gibbs and Kate walked off the elevator they found Tony and McGee talking.

"What is important enough to interrupt your work?" Gibbs said, approaching the two agents.

"That's just it boss, we were talking about the results of the search," McGee explained.

"Ok…good McGee, what'd you find? Anything that can help?" Gibbs said, sitting at his desk.

"Well, everything seems pretty normal, credit cards are consistent, no peaks in spending," McGee started, "about 2 weeks before we found them in the restaurant, a new number appeared on his cell phone bill."

"Who would that be?" Gibbs asked.

"A Ms. Natalie Andrews," Tony interjected, "no direct involvement with the Secret Service, but she was working as a JAG officer's assistant."

"Good work, has anyone called into the office she worked at?" Gibbs asked, the answer became evident when neither replied right away, "do that right now, DiNozzo."

"You two," he said, pointing to Kate and McGee, "run background checks on the Cadwell family, they're very strange, and I know they're hiding something."

"I'll get right on that, Boss," McGee said, taking a seat at his desk.

"When you're done with that, look into Ms. Andrews as well, I want a detailed history of all of them, every member of the Cadwell family."

After what seemed like an eternity of research to Kate, she finally found something worth reporting. Cautiously she approached Gibbs' desk.

"Gibbs, I think I have something," she said, "the Cadwell's have a daughter, Katherine."

"I wonder why they didn't mention her…" Gibbs said, as if thinking aloud.

"She was kidnapped at the age of 16," Kate said, "went to a party, never returned home."

"Go on," Gibbs said.

"There's a common file showing up here," Kate said, "it seems that Katherine faked her kidnapping to get away from her parents, her new name is Audrey Reyes."

"What else do we know about Audrey?" Gibbs asked.

"Dropped out of high school early to join the Army, discharged after 18 months because of inappropriate behavior and drug possession," Kate said.

"What do you have for me McGee?" Gibbs asked.

"Mr. Doug Cadwell is a veteran of the Gulf War, no combat, a supervising Sergeant," McGee began, "returned home in 1995, and after that model citizen."

"And Mrs. Cadwell?" Gibbs asked.

"She has a bit of a psychiatric profile to deal with, seems she's convinced her daughter is still around and is terrified something is going to go wrong," McGee said, reading from the computer screen.

"That would explain the tension in that family today," Kate said, turning to Gibbs.

"McGee, pull up the phone records for Natalie and Audrey, see if there's any corresponding calls," Gibbs ordered.

"Gibbs, it turns out that both Audrey and Natalie have been recently contacted by a company, Worldwide Chefs, Inc." McGee said, "Which I'm guessing is a cover for some less than legal activity."

"Anything else?" Gibbs asked.

"Not on the phone records," McGee said, "Or the credit records either."

"Wow…they're hot," Tony said, hanging up the phone looking at the screen the files were displayed on.

"DiNozzo…not the time for one of your comments," Gibbs said, "McGee, do we have an address for either Natalie or Audrey?"

"Getting those now Boss," McGee said, "Ms. Natalie Andrews is at 1400 Bell Court, apartment B and Ms. Audrey Reyes is at 154 Independence Drive."

"Ok, let's move," Gibbs said opening his drawer grabbing his gun; the rest of the team following his lead.


	14. Chapter 14

The team headed out to the truck, to find out what they could about Audrey Reyes. They had to find something; everyone's tempers were worn thin from 48 hours of research that didn't turn out any results.

"DiNozzo," Gibbs said, starting the car, "what do you have for me?"

"Well boss, turns out Ms. Natalie Andrews was a perfect intern, eager to learn whatever they would teach," Tony began, "however, they did cite an unusually enthusiastic interest in international affairs, dealing specifically with drug trafficking."

"Anything else?" Gibbs asked.

"Not that they could think of," Tony said. "What do we know about Audrey?"

"She used to be known as Katherine Cadwell, until the age of sixteen, staged a kidnapping to start over in life," Kate answered, not missing a beat.

"And now she's known as Audrey," Tony said, looking at the file, "Reyes?"

"Yes, Tony…you think you could ignore your attraction for a half hour so we can get this interrogation done?" Kate said, her cold gaze drilling harshly into his eyes, "you're what, 32? Get over yourself."

Gibbs raised an eyebrow at Kate, surprised at her sudden hostility towards DiNozzo. Everyone's temper was on a short fuse lately; so he just shook his head and laughed to himself. He followed the road that stretched out ahead to Audrey's residence. The young man was first out of the truck, obviously enthusiastic to meet this young woman that had managed to look so good in her head shot.

"Wow…not bad," Tony said. The team made their way towards the house. It was quaint looking, appeared to be built in the 1600s, around the time of Plymouth Rock.

"Much better than your place, isn't it DiNozzo?" Kate asked.

"You didn't mind it last night, Kate…" Tony said.

McGee raised an eyebrow, not knowing of Gibbs' special orders.

"Enough!" Gibbs growled.

"Sure thing boss," Tony said.

Gibbs knocked on the door; the team waited impatiently swatting away flies that buzzed around. A noise came from inside and soon the door opened. A woman appeared and stepped out. She wore jean shorts that were jeans in a past life, a white tank top that seemed to be two sizes too small.

"Yes?" Audrey asked.

"NCIS, we're here to ask you a few questions Ms. Reyes," Gibbs said, showing his badge.

"Ummm, sure, come in," Audrey said, appearing suddenly flustered. Tony, despite his best efforts couldn't help but stare and soon flinched at a sharp pain in the back of his head. He turned, knowing full well Gibbs would be there glaring at him.

"Didn't Kate tell you to grow up for this short period of time so we could get this interrogation done?" Gibbs asked.

When they entered the house, the first impression meant nothing. The interior was painted hospital white; and bare walls didn't do much for the ambience. They followed Audrey into the kitchen passing what appeared to be a wall of friends and her Army past.

"Can I offer anyone anything to drink?" Audrey asked, "I'm afraid my fridge is rather empty right now."

"Tell me, Ms. Reyes…" Gibbs began, "how does a young lady like you, fresh out of the army, manage to hold a place like this?"

"Well, a fellow officer is renting this place out to me, he's into real estate," Audrey said, still as flustered as before.

"Can we have the name?" Gibbs asked, pulling out a pad and paper.

"What's this about?" Audrey asked her pulse increasing.

"We found two people murdered in an abandoned restaurant we believe you to be connected with," Tony explained, stepping in.

"I can assure you I have no idea what you're talking about, and this guy knows nothing about whatever you guys are talking about," Audrey said, her anger surfacing.

"Somehow I doubt that," Gibbs said, staring directly at Audrey.

"You **would** say that," Audrey spat, returning Gibbs' icy glare.

Gibbs stood there holding her gaze, then turned to his team, "Ok…let's go."

"But boss, we haven't even searched…" McGee said.

"NOW McGee!" Gibbs growled, leading his team out of the house.

"Gibbs…why are we leaving?" Kate asked.

"We're gonna come back for her later, when she thinks everything's alright," Gibbs said, heading for the car.

"Who's we?" McGee asked.

"You and DiNozzo," Gibbs snapped, turning to face them, "do you have a problem with that?"

"No," they both said simultaneously.


	15. Chapter 15

The old man bent over the metal slab, known as a table to those in the medical field. He was examining the damage to the skin cells in the nape of Petty Officer Larsen's neck. There was definitely some noticeable scratches on the surface of the skin, but nothing pointed solidly to strangulation. Blood tests had been sent out over an hour ago; and Ducky was beginning to get frustrated. Finally the examination room doors opened, and a man, who looked like he was a rookie, walked in; his lack of self-confidence evident.

"What took you guys so long?" Ducky exclaimed; irritated that he didn't have the information that could've helped his examination.

"W…well, sir, you see it's not my fault," the man managed to choke out, "I'm just…"

Ducky cut him off, "No need to explain now, I've got the results." Opening the envelope he didn't know what he'd find, he just hoped it would help him and the team figure out how and why she was murdered. Ducky pulled out the sheet; he read the results of the blood test. _"Moderate levels of carbon dioxide and excessively high levels of Rohypnol," _Ducky read to himself.

"You didn't see it coming did you?" Ducky said, looking at the pale woman lying on the steel slab.

"See what coming?" Gibbs asked walking through the sliding doors, "What do you have for me Duck? Something conclusive I hope."

"Well Jethro…it seems that Ms. Larsen has moderate amounts of carbon dioxide and excessive amounts of Rohypnol in her blood stream," Ducky began.

"And what do we know from this?" Gibbs growled, staring at the older man.

"The drug was definitely in her drink, no sign of injection or snorting of powder," Ducky explained, "presumably this drug was administered at least 48 hours ago."

"And the carbon dioxide?" Gibbs growled, growing irritated, he wanted to figure out this case now.

"Strangulation…which would explain the noticeable scratches on her neck," Ducky said, pointing to the girl lying on the table.

"How does one get a hold of such a drug?" Gibbs barked, walking around the table, inspecting the corpse.

"I'm afraid I don't know the specifics, just that it's not available legally in America," Ducky explained.

"Ok…" Gibbs said, taking one last look at the body. Ducky watched the silver haired man walkthrough the sliding doors and to the elevator up to the main floor.


	16. Chapter 16

Tony looked up to see his boss get off the elevator. He looked disturbed and distracted, which normally wouldn't be a concern; but today it seemed worse. Something was bothering his boss, and he quickly got the feeling he'd know about it soon enough when Gibbs headed towards his desk.

"Boss...?" Tony asked, afraid to set off Gibbs' temper.

"Yes, DiNozzo?" he said through partly clenched teeth.

"What'd Ducky tell you?" Tony asked, leaning back in his chair.

"That Petty Officer Larsen had high levels of Rohypnol in her blood stream," Gibbs said, still distracted.

"Boss, you're not looking so great, why don't you go home..?" Kate suggested, making it known she'd been observing the pair from afar.

"No…shouldn't leave until the end of the day," Gibbs barked, obviously irritated.

"Well…it **is** the end of the day…" Tony pointed out, not wanting a smack in the back of the head tonight.

Gibbs looked at him surprised, and then glanced at his watch. He was shocked to see it was indeed 5:30; time to go home.

"You're free to leave…I'm going to stay here and figure out some facts," Gibbs snapped, sitting down at his desk. That was all the approval Tony needed, he was already on his feet and putting his jacket on. Catching Kate's eye, he mouthed, _'my place later?'_ She winked in response. On the way out he called a last good-bye to Kate and Gibbs; they both rolled their eyes and went back to work.

Tony practically danced through the parking lot; knowing exactly what he wanted to do tonight; everyone was stressed about this case and he wanted to help Kate relax. He would stop at the store and buy food, because knowing her, she wouldn't stop to breathe, much less eat. His heart fluttered at the idea of being able to hold her close and to taste her; suddenly he wondered if the stop at the store was necessary.


	17. Chapter 17

Later that night, Kate went to Tony's apartment; wondering what the night would be like. She hesitated, calming her nerves that suddenly arose at the door; then reached out and knocked. She held her breath, waiting for Tony to open the door; when she saw him she exhaled deeply. She let her eyes follow the lines of his body; taking in every last detail. He wasn't dressed fancy, just jeans, a sweatshirt and she guessed a t-shirt; which made her feel over dressed as she had come straight from work.

"Hi," Kate said, obviously distracted by the man in front of her.

"Hi there," Tony said, taking a minute to admire her shape. He studied the curves of her neck and waist, her scent that never failed to intoxicate him. He inhaled deeply taking in the sweet floral scent which he couldn't tell was shampoo or perfume. Stepping close to her, he kissed her deeply; the frustration and stress of the day melting into the passion he felt for her in a matter of seconds. Feeling the oxygen flow quickly from his lungs he pulled back slightly; resting his forehead on hers.

"How are you tonight?" he asked, breathlessly.

"I'm fine now…" she said, licking her lips slowly gazing into his eyes. He felt his body react at the mere sight of this; knowing that the next time he kissed her he wouldn't be able to stop.

"Come in, have a seat," Tony said, leading her to his couch. He took his sweatshirt off and placed it over the armrest of the couch. They both sat down, settling into the comfort the couch offered.

"These past few days have just been so hard…I never thought my family would be dragged into my job," Kate said, leaning her head on his shoulder.

"Business and your personal life is bound to mix, especially when you have a job in the government so long," Tony said, putting an arm around her shoulder, tracing imaginary circles.

"Are you glad this happened?" Kate asked, looking up into his green eyes.

"I've thanked the stars every night since that night," Tony said, kissing her lips softly. This simple kiss was all it took to bring the butterflies fluttering back in the pit of his stomach. He noticed a new light in Kate's eyes and knew she had been thinking the same thing he was. He kissed her with new emotion, one that he'd never felt as deep as he did in this moment. Slowly he wrapped his arms around her shoulders and waist, pulling her as close as possible, needing more.

Kate felt her body start to surrender to the heat building within her; the world around her beginning to blur faster than before. His delicate touches were driving her insane, she was ravenous, already forgetting her wishes to take it slow; and now his excessive composure was torturing her. She tugged at his t-shirt, not wanting the fabric there to prevent her from feeling that she was driving him insane; returning the same torture he so expertly exuded over her. She felt him push her hands away and thought she heard him mumble, 'not yet' against her lips; but she was too absorbed in the feel of him against her to know for sure.

The more time passed, the harder it was for Tony to keep his cool. He felt Kate's control slip faster by the second; her nails sending shivers down his spine. Suddenly, it was too much for him to handle. Pulling back he licked his lips, still lost in the heat of the moment; he walked to his stereo and turned the power on. A delicate melody of piano and saxophone filled the room.

"Come here," he whispered with a ragged breath; still drowsy with desire.

The sound of his voice sent a shiver flooding through her body. She melted into his embrace and they began to sway in time with each other and the melody flowing from the speakers. Lost in the music, his touch, and his scent, her hands quickly found the bottom of his shirt; to her surprise he stepped back and removed it himself. Her fingers traced against his skin, sending waves of electricity through his being.

Her feather light touches found every inch of his skin; driving him insane. Not wanting to become too lost in the feel of his fingertips across his shoulders; he directed her towards his room in a sensual dance. As they reached the side of his bed, Kate looked into Tony's eyes, stunned to find herself in the middle of his bedroom.

"Lay back," Tony whispered, kneeling down in front of her.

"Wh…what are you doing?" she asked, speaking for the first time in nearly an hour.

"Just relax…you need to relax," Tony said, stripping her socks off her feet. Kate sighed deeply, relaxing into the moment; she allowed her head to fall back, enjoying every sensation.

Knowing he was nearly too far to stop, Tony looked up; his eyes meeting her brown ones. He saw that they were dark with lust, and knew the answer to the question he needed to ask.

"I'm not going to push you if you don't…" he stopped mid-sentence; noticing her hands were at the base of her shirt already working on the first button. That was all the encouragement he needed; he sat down next to her and began working on the next buttons. He captured her lips in a hungry kiss as he pushed her shirt off her shoulders and threw it on the floor. His hands found the waist band of her pants, relieved to find there was no more buttons to fumble with. He undid his own pants and kneeled in front of her once again; beginning to massage her feet again.

Kate felt all of her weight relax onto her elbows; she was completely blown away by the attention he was giving each inch of her. She gasped as he stroked, rubbed and kissed his way up her leg, stopping at the knee and giving the same attention to the other. When he kissed her thigh she thought she was going to lose her mind.

"Tony…" she sighed, letting her head fall back. At the sound of her voice he looked up, hoping she didn't decide she wanted him to stop.

"Yes..?" he asked cautiously; not wanting to harm the energy in the room.

"Nothing…don't stop," she whispered; her voice muffled, her breathing shallow.

He continued his massage up her body, leaving a trail of kisses; knowing he wouldn't be able to hold back much longer. He kissed her again, forceful, wanting more of her still. Slowly, he slipped his hand under the waist band of her panties and he felt her tremble; suddenly he realized she wanted him as much as he wanted her. He stood and slipped off the boxers he still had on. He lay down beside her rolling quickly to cover her body with his; he gazed into her eyes, seeing the same desperation that had now filled his entire being. He nudged her legs apart and slipped inside her in slow movements.

She gasped staring up at the ceiling, concentrating on the feel of his movement inside her. She fought to hold on for a few more moments but knew it was useless. Her nerves had as much as they could take and she gave into the waves of bliss washed over her entire being. She heard him call out as he trembled with the same waves that had just washed over her.

"Kate…" he whispered, leaning down to kiss her forehead.

"Shhhh…I know…" she whispered; placing a finger over his lips. She knew what he was going to say, but she wasn't ready to hear it yet. What scared her more than that was that she felt it too. Less than a week ago they were just coworkers, and now she wanted something totally different but couldn't bring herself to say anything. She'd heard the love in his voice, and that's all she needed to know for now.


	18. Chapter 18

The next morning the two agents walked into the office; trying to pretend like nothing had happened the night before, but grinning continuously nonetheless. The silver haired man looked up from his desk noticing that they weren't engaged in their morning bickering; also that not only one but both of them were late.

"Kate…DiNozzo, care to tell me where the hell you two have been?" Gibbs snapped, glancing at his watch to confirm they were nearly forty five minutes late.

"My alarm…" they both began to say, they glanced at each other trying not to laugh.

"Traffic was bad, boss, worse than expected, it won't happen again," Tony explained, heading to his desk.

"Yea…and my alarm clock didn't go off," Kate said, trying to avoid his blue eyes. She knew there was no use lying, that he would find out sooner or later; even with that knowledge, she had no motivation to let the secret into the open now.

"Well, Ducky's been waiting for us; it appears he's found some evidence on the victim's skin."

Gibbs led the two to the autopsy room; again noticing that they were quiet. In a way he found it unsettling but more over he found himself relieved that he didn't have to witness or hear anymore of their immature fights over who finished whose sandwich or who went through the others garbage. Smiling to himself he was reminded once more that Kate was always the mature one; Tony the complainer.

"Ah…Jethro, I see we're ready…" Ducky began, "we've been examining Ms. Larsen's neck area…"

"Yes, now what exactly did you find?" Gibbs asked through his teeth. Ducky looked at his old friend; knowing he was as anxious as anyone to find out what was going on.

"We found evidence of strangulation…" Ducky said, "we think that is what killed her."

"But didn't she have a **high** amount of rohypnol in her blood tests?" Kate asked, not sure what he was getting at.

"Yes, Caitlin, but it appears that isn't what killed her…" Ducky began, sounding as if he was starting a story.

"They waited for the drug to wear off, before killing her," McGee said slowly, as if he was thinking aloud.

"Precisely," Ducky said, glancing at Gibbs.

"So where does this lead us?" Gibbs growled, not liking that this meeting wasn't bringing out any conclusive evidence.

"I've sent DNA from her neck up to Abby for testing; I'm afraid it's a waiting game now Jethro…" Ducky answered.

"**You** two…" Gibbs snapped, pointing at Tony and McGee, "Go find Audrey and bring her in for questioning."

"Right away, Boss," Tony said; heading towards autopsy's sliding glass doors, "come on Probie."

"What about her friend? Natalie…" Kate began.

"We're going to pick her up right now," Gibbs said, sounding smug and almost happy for the first time in days. Kate headed to the elevator to gather Natalie's information and her gun from her desk.

"Thanks for talking to them, Duck…" Gibbs said, turning to face the doctor as a friend after Kate had left the room.

"Talking to whom?"

"Tony and Kate, they've been getting along for once," Gibbs explained, "what'd you call it, 'marriage counseling'?"

"I stopped talking to those two months ago," Ducky said, not knowing the significance; yet proud it had worked.

"Well, it must've **really** worked," Gibbs said, heading up to the main floor. He knew it all along; but now that his suspicions were confirmed he wasn't sure how to react. Something had happened with his two strongest agents; not necessarily bad, but he couldn't be certain of that now. He knew they wouldn't be so stupid as to slip up in a crucial moment, he knew they were mature enough to handle this. He smiled then, a real smile for the first time in weeks;_ 'if something is really happening between those two, I could have some fun with that.' _ Stepping into the elevator he made a mental note to himself, _'I ought to get Kate a new alarm clock.'_


	19. Chapter 19

Kate followed her boss out of the building into the early autumn heat. Her head was foggy from the past few days' events; she couldn't think clearly, and she found herself forgetting important facts. As much as she tried to tell herself that it was the intense family crisis flung upon her just days before, she knew better. Anthony DiNozzo; since when had that name made such a difference in her life? He was always there, dependable; but why this sudden change? To determine whether it was good or bad was easy, in personal terms of course. She knew there'd be a serious explanation due if Gibbs found out about it from someone other than herself or Tony. She thought of him and the masterful torture he'd exuded over her being the previous night; in spite of herself, a deep crimson color her cheeks.

"Is everything alright?" Gibbs asked quietly, though his tone made it clear he was unhappy to see her daydreaming on the job.

"Yes, fine…" snapping suddenly from her daydream, she stammered, climbing into the car, "just a little hot, that's all." For a minute she thought she saw the 'all-knowing' look wash over his face and she panicked suddenly.

"Yea, we're going to need some water," Gibbs said, pulling out onto the main road. Kate thanked her stars that the drive to Natalie's apartment was only thirty-five minutes, arguably long to some in this situation, but they could've been traveling to the edges of Virginia. While a quick stop at the gas station increased the silent time between the two agents, she was thankful for the ice cold bottle of water it produced. She knew she would have to shake the images of the two of them together if she wanted to make it through the day; though seeing Tony later wouldn't help matters. Once on the road to the apartment, there was a silence that built between the two. Kate noticed that Gibbs seemed to be in an unusual mood, asking about alarm clocks and the back-up methods she had if her current one fails again.

Parking the car the two agents climbed out and headed towards the square apartment building. The neighborhood was nice, quiet; plenty of trees lined the streets giving it the classic east coast autumn look this particular day. As they approached they noticed a young woman in the front of the complex working in the yard. As they moved closer to the complex they were able to identify the worker as Natalie.

"Ms. Andrews, NCIS, we're here to ask you a few questions," Gibbs said flatly, leaving Natalie no doubt that she was going to cooperate.

"What can I help you with?" Natalie asked; a soft southern accent flowed with her words. Immediately Kate knew something was deceiving about this girl. She could very well be from the south, but most of her appearance seemed to tell that she was much smarter than the first impression led on.

"We're here about a recent death of a petty Officer…an officer Larsen," Kate explained, letting the name hang in the air.

"Oh…I'm sorry to hear that someone has died…" Natalie said, whipping the sweat from her face with the back of her hand.

"Did you know Ms. Larsen?" Kate asked, her opinion of this young woman souring more by the minute.

"Not really…" the woman said, tugging at her tank top, doing her best to maintain eye contact.

"What about a Ms. Audrey Reyes," Gibbs cut in, his failing patience etched in his tone. Kate pulled out a picture of the woman Tony and McGee were apprehending at this very moment; looking confused Natalie took the picture.

"Again, I don't think I can help you, I believe I've seen her around, but not much more than that," Natalie said, studying the picture intently. Watching this witness, Kate grew more skeptical as every second passed. She was tugging at her clothes; she wouldn't be surprised to see her playing with the silver chain around her neck next. As if Kate had been a mind reader, Natalie's hand found the thin chain at her neck and began to twirl it.

"Do you know what Audrey did?" Kate asked, desperate to maintain the situation so Gibbs wouldn't have a chance to lose his cool. Natalie stopped playing with her necklace suddenly; she looked over their shoulders, lost in thought.

"No…what does this all have to do with me?" she asked, pouring on the southern charm. _'Too bad DiNozzo isn't here, he could charm her right back,'_ Kate thought smiling to herself.

"We believe that she's involved in the death of Ms. Johanna Larsen, and my brother, Joseph," Kate said, she was now fighting for her patience to stay with her. This girl knew something; she had an instinct about women like this, always intelligent and manipulative on the inside with an innocent, charming quality to show off to the world. She was two – faced and she needed to prove it.

"Oh my," she exclaimed; Kate wanted to strangle her right then, but her common sense held her back.

"Do you know anyone that was close to this woman?" Kate pressed frustration evident in her tone.

"No…not that I could think of," she said, solemnly. _'Damn her, if I was such a good actress I wouldn't have wasted my talent,' _Kate thought, doing her best not to scowl, _'she's obviously intelligent, JAG wouldn't have accepted her if she wasn't.'_

"Not even family?" the agent asked still fighting the urge to slap her around, "no one?"

"Well…maybe my brother," she finally admitted a second naval connection to the family, "he might've known her better."

"Can we have his name?" Gibbs barked, breaking in; he needed results faster than Natalie was willing to give them up. Kate watched her superior plan his next move; she could see his annoyance clearly expressed in his unyielding gaze.

"Well…I would give you the name but sadly I just dropped him off at the airport this morning," Natalie retorted, gaining control of the situation.

The two agents studied her; seeing if she would continue to fidget. She appeared to hold her innocent outer image well; everything they were observing went against Kate's instincts. Before she knew it Gibbs was handing her their card and the two of them were heading back to the car.

"**Please** tell me you don't believe her, Gibbs," Kate exclaimed, "she had 'prolific liar' practically tattooed on her forehead."

"I don't trust her either," Gibbs said through clenched teeth, quickly making the point that he wasn't to be questioned.

"She was just so," Kate began, pausing, "**two-faced**."

"What do you suppose we do?" Gibbs barked at her, "Bring her in for questioning as well? That seems like the obvious plan, but I say we deal with Audrey first and see what we get out of her."

The same uneasy silence washed over the car as they headed back to the office; both preparing for having Audrey held in one of the interrogation rooms, neither expecting her to be questioned quietly. She was a spit-fire; and however long she'd been in the interrogation room she wasn't going to be happy. Gibbs walked into the building, heading straight for the interrogation room; he knew that he would have to get something from Audrey today and fast. Kate followed a few steps behind, as opened the door she saw the obvious happiness wash over her coworkers face; suddenly she felt herself panic. _'I can't believe we are where we are, I promised myself I would never be involved with someone at work…**ever**._' Kate mentally scolded herself; through her thoughts she had to remind herself to walk in a straight line. She made it to Tony's arms and immediately felt her stress ease away. He dipped his head to kiss her softly and without thinking she turned her cheek. Looking up she saw she'd hurt Tony. Shrugging, not knowing what to do, she muttered something about 'the job they have to do,' and led herself into the interrogation room where Audrey and Gibbs had begun their conversation.

"What do you think we're going to get out of her today?" Tony asked, moving to stand next to Kate.

"Well, based on what we've seen of her previously, not much most likely, we know she's a tough woman," Kate explained, thinking about her fiery expressions the first day they'd met.

"Have I missed anything?" McGee asked, joining the two in the interrogation room.

"Nope, he's just getting started," Kate said, "she's gonna pay if she doesn't cooperate, I can tell you right now." The team fell silent, paying close attention to the scene unfolding in front of them.

"Do you know a Ms. Natalie Andrews," Gibbs asked calmly, speaking through clenched teeth.

"Barely," Audrey began, but Gibbs cut her off.

"Now why don't I believe you?" Gibbs growled.

"I don't know, maybe because you don't want to believe me? You don't want to believe that you could possibly have the wrong woman connected to whatever you're investigating," Audrey spat back at him, trying to get under the silver haired man's skin.

"Don't you play stupid with me," Gibbs growled, standing to move closer to her; willing away any false confidence a normal witness would have. The team watched Audrey's face on the video, and knew she was different; Gibbs was going to have to do better than staring her down to get any information.

"I'm not, I'm simply not giving you the information, I'm going to make you work for it," Audrey taunted, a sarcastic smile forming on her lips.

Gibbs sighed, knowing that this girl was tougher than he'd anticipated after their first meeting, "Alright then, why don't you tell me who you're working for."

"You know that already, I've only got one boss," She said, the same smile still lingering. She knew what she was doing, and Gibbs knew her plan as well.

"McGee!" Gibbs barked, "Run a background check on everyone that's ever worked for World Wide Chefs, Inc." McGee looked like a deer in headlights for a second, and then headed out of the room to the main floor.

Gibbs then leaned down to whisper right in Audrey's ear, "Listen, you better **hope** there's no classified information in the computers, because if there is _anything_ you are hiding from me, we'll find it and we'll drag you back down here and you'll be in prison faster than you can claim innocence. I'm giving you one chance to give me something that may make both our lives a little easier."

"Try me," Audrey said smugly.

"We will find something on you or what you've been involved with, trust me," Gibbs said, catching her eyes. He stood there studying her for a minute before walking out of the room. Tony and Kate stayed behind to study Audrey's expressions; five minutes later, a security guard entered to escort her back to her home.

"I wonder what she's hiding," Tony asked, intrigued by Audrey's unruly behavior.

"Well, we'll see what she gave us, and then we can decide what she's hiding," Kate explained as if it was the right way to move forward, and the only way. As the elevator began to move, she could feel Tony's eyes on her, studying her every move, even the slightest twitch. Returning to their desks they worked fast to get thorough information on the company, World Wide Chefs, Inc. Even the name was starting to sound awkward to Kate; reminding herself that she had a job to do she returned to pulling profiles of every person associated in some way to the company. Slowly the hours wore on until someone finally reached the head of the company.

"Boss! I've got something!" Tony said, breaking the silence that had fallen over the room.

"What have you got for me, DiNozzo?" Gibbs said his false enthusiasm already showing as he looked up from his screen.

"The CEO of World Wide Chefs, Inc., Jake Thompson is an excellent chef, as it says here in his profile, but look here," Tony said, as a red dot appeared under the education category on the profile, "he's got his degree in chemistry and physics, then he went to the Atlantic Culinary Academy in New Hampshire…"

"Now why would someone interested in the culinary arts need a degree in chemistry and physics?" Gibbs snapped, interrupting Tony.

"I'm thinking he's not really into the chef part, it's just a cover-up for something bigger," Tony said, "what are we going to do to capture this guy?"

"Kate and I will go to the company headquarters tomorrow and see what we can find out from this guy, whether or not he's sitting on a bigger business," Gibbs said, staring at the picture of the CEO. He knew this man was hiding something and they hadn't even met. He told himself that tomorrow is another day, more time to find out what was going on, and how to stop it. He knew someone was behind this, someone Kate probably knew; that was more unsettling than anything he'd been confronted with in the last five years. At six thirty he finally gave up on the nonstop search for Ari like so much white noise, constant and comforting in the background. As he exited the building a fleeting thought crossed his mind that he could be the bastard behind all of this, bringing Kate pain.


	20. Chapter 20

Later that night Kate arrived at her apartment on autopilot; she tried really hard to control her distractions, her daydreams. Her life passed like a movie in her minds eye; she thought of all the good memories she had with her brother and sadness washed over her as she reminded herself there wouldn't be anymore. Her memories of past work experiences flooded through her mind next, followed by romances; soon she thought of the most unexpected event in the past week, more so than the death of her brother. She couldn't stop thinking of the man that had **always **been there for her, no matter what situation he was in; now all she could think of is running from him, taking both of their hearts with her in the process.

Searching for a medium other than liquor to relax her muscles she wandered over to the stereo and pushed play. A smooth piano melody flowed from the speakers, immediately reminding her of Tony, the one person who cared more about her than himself, and cared for her more than anyone in the whole world. Shaking the thoughts from her head she sat down on her couch, leaning back into the comfort it readily offered. Just as her mind was finally clearing for the night there was a knock at the door. Glancing through the curtains she breathed a sigh of relief, finding her coworker there fidgeting with the zipper on his jacket. She took a minute to watch him standing there and felt her heart flutter as her eyes memorized every feature.

"Hi," Kate said, opening the door with a smile.

He froze momentarily, and then his charming grin spread across his face, "Hi."

"Come in…" she said opening the door wider so he could enter.

"Thanks…thought you might want to talk about going in to interrogate the 'big boss' tomorrow," he said, his green eyes meeting hers and holding her gaze; it was if he was searching for an answer he needed.

"Come on, Tony, you know that's not why you came here," Kate said, lowering her voice.

He stepped closer to her, "you're right…it's not." Moving slowly, he kissed her softly. Kate's first response was to pull away, but slowly she melted into his embrace returning his kiss with just as much emotion as he put in. Suddenly her brain was screaming at her, telling her to pull away, to tell him all the conflicts dueling in her being. Gently she pushed his shoulders back; taking his hand she led him to the couch.

"Tony…" she started, meeting his eyes, "I need to say something."

"I'm here…anything you need," he said, placing his other hand over the one he was holding.

"I need space…" Kate began, averting her eyes, "I can't be involved with someone I work with when we're dealing with such a personal case for me." Suddenly the closeness of him was too overpowering; she wanted to say what she had planned to. Kate rose from the couch, dropping his hands and began pacing the living room.

"Is it just **me** you don't want to be with..?" doing his best to steady his voice, "or is it everyone?"

"God…Tony…don't make it like that," she said, her voice cracking, "you know I love you like a brother."

"What makes you think that's enough for me now?" Tony asked, fighting to keep his cool, "after what happened between us…I thought it was going to be different."

"It is, it really is, just…" Kate continued, tears now threatening to fall from her eyes.

"Just what?" he asked standing, forcing her to face him, taking her hands in his.

"Just…can't we say that made us closer? It was a special moment…but…" Kate said, watching him kiss both her palms.

"I know it made us closer, but that's not it. God Kate, you weren't the only one there that night," he said, his eyes burning into her soul, "I love you." Kate choked back the new tears forming in her eyes; she couldn't look at him now that he'd said that. He'd said 'I love you', he was giving her his heart and she was stomping on it before it was even in her hands.

"You what?" she whispered.

"I love you," he whispered in her ear. She fell into him at that moment, tears flowing freely; she pulled away from him gaining control of her emotions.

"I don't know what to say…" Kate said, whipping tears away.

"Say you love me too…I know you do…" he said, hope evident in his tone; he searched her eyes for answers while he dried her tears. She began shaking her head 'no', knowing she shouldn't and couldn't do this right now.

"I…I can't…" she said.

"What exactly are you trying to tell me?" he asked pinning her chin in his right hand, so she couldn't look away. "Say it out loud, I deserve to know what's weighing on your mind."

"Please leave…" Kate whispered, pushing his hand away and walking to her bedroom. Tony stood there for a moment, trying to figure out what had just happened. Had they just broken up before they were even really together? He couldn't let that happen; he knew she was scared, and he knew he had to wait for her. Wait for her to figure out what he already knew. Knowing she wasn't going to come out and talk to him, he left, slamming the door behind him.

Kate flinched slightly at the sound of the door closing. She didn't want to hurt him like that, but she couldn't handle getting involved with someone she worked with again, only to have something happen to him. Holding back yet another yawn, she fell back on her bed, not bothering to get undressed and turned off the light.


	21. Chapter 21

The next day Gibbs and Kate pulled into the parking lot of World Wide Chefs, Inc in La Plata, Maryland. The building towered above them thirty two stories; with more windows than one should bother to count, it looked out of place in this small East Coast town. The doors in front of the building opened automatically, allowing them to enter. Within the building it looked like a sterile environment from a futuristic science fiction movie; straight ahead there was a white desk. As they approached the receptionist people wandered through the lobby finding where they were supposed to go. As they reached the desk they noted that the receptionist's name was Lila Roberts; she sat behind the desk a headset perched over her ear and a nail file in her hand. When she didn't acknowledge their presence right away, Gibbs cleared his throat loudly. As soon as she turned to face them it was obvious that she was an over paid, under experienced receptionist, fresh out of college and not a day over twenty-two.

"Yes? May I help you?" Lila asked, a smooth accent lacing her words.

"Ms. Roberts…NCIS, we're here to look around and talk to some people about an incident we're investigating," Gibbs snapped, eyeing her appearance and growing more disgusted by the minute.

"I don't think I can do anything for you…" she said, in her same tone, childlike yet indignant, refusing to be of use.

"Now…Ms. Roberts, I realize that you're just the receptionist here and you most likely do not know this company inside out, but is there someone we could or should talk to?" Kate cut in, growing irritated.

"Well…you **should** talk to Mr. Thompson, but he's not in right now," she said, eyeing them skeptically, as if she was trying to figure out what they needed to know. All Gibbs needed to do was flash Kate a stern look and she excused herself to examine the lobby premises.

"Now…what can you tell me about the company?" Gibbs asked in a low, stern tone.

"Nothing…" Lila said, dragging the word out to emphasize her point.

"Well, when can I see…Mr. Thompson was it?" Gibbs asked through clenched teeth.

"You'll have to make an appointment," she said, "I'm afraid he's booked for a while, and he doesn't meet with clients inside his office."

"Well when and where can I see him?" Gibbs growled, trying to hide his irritation, "it's urgent."

"I can schedule you in a few days," she said, her fingers moving like lightning across her keyboard, "ah yes…Wednesday, a few days from now."

"Thank you, I didn't know that," Gibbs snapped, knowing that if he pushed he'd end up with a meeting later in the week rather than earlier. "That's fine…now where will I be meeting him?"

"He is free at 4:30pm and he will be able to meet you at the corner of 4th and Pine St," She said, her boredom showing in full now. By this time, Gibbs couldn't stand her unwillingness to help; handing yet another person his card, he turned and walked out of the building. Kate followed close behind, knowing yet again her boss knew something she didn't.

"It's a cover," he said flatly to Kate as they approached the car.

"When are we going to go meet the boss?" she asked, wanting desperately to take this person down.

"I know what you're thinking Kate, and I really don't think it's a good idea," he began in his normal stern tone, one that was supposed to tell his team to not question him. Normally Kate would listen, but given the circumstances she couldn't care less.

"But Gibbs–" She began in protest.

"No, Kate," he snapped, "I don't want to put you in danger…who knows why this guy is out to hurt you through family, I'm not taking any chances, end of discussion."

Gibbs went silent once he turned onto the main road. He knew someone was out to get Kate, he had no idea why or how this mystery person, the CEO of this 'company' was going to go about it. He would force her to stay in the office on Wednesday and take McGee and Tony to take this man out of the world, no matter what.


	22. Chapter 22

In the next few days the team worked fast to get a full personal history on Jake Thompson. It didn't take much research to find out that Jake Thompson was formerly known as Jake Meyers, brother of Eric, a secret service agent. Tony's eyes widened as he read that fact; Kate had dated someone by the name of Eric while involved in the Secret Service. He knew it would upset her but he had to know if this was the same person; and if this was the reason she'd sworn off romance and in turn sworn off him.

"Kate?" he called across the way, loud enough to attract her attention.

"Hmmm?" was her only response, then in a distracted tone, "what is it Tony?"

"Who was it…the man you were involved with who was killed in the line of duty?" Tony asked, knowing this was a sensitive subject.

"Really, **none** of your business DiNozzo," she snapped, now looking directly into his eyes.

"Seriously Kate, you may want to rethink that answer…it's important," Tony said, lowering his voice, letting her know she better come over to his station. Suddenly Kate rose from her seat; looking unsure of herself she crossed the room to stand behind Tony, to see what was so important. When she saw the face on the screen she gasped, she knew him, not as well as his brother. Tony knew that Eric Meyers was probably the first and only man she had truly loved, and it was killing him to not even get a chance; he knew he could treat her as well as he had, if not better.

"I think I need to sit down…" she said, trailing off. Tony looked up at her, seeing the paleness of her face he immediately rose leaving her his seat.

"This is the man Gibbs, McGee and I are going after…we're going to bring him down, no matter what it takes," he said, putting his hand on her shoulder, his gaze holding hers. Gibbs came around the corner at that moment.

"What do we know about the boss? We already know he's covering for something bigger than their campaigning leads on," he said through his teeth, his frustration with this case showing more than ever.

"Well…it appears that there's another personal connection," Tony began, "you see, he's Eric Meyer's brother, the man Kate dated before he was killed…it appears he has a grudge against Kate for his death."

Gibbs turned looked at Kate, knowing it was more important than ever for Kate to stay at headquarters. Sighing audibly he commanded McGee to get the keys and Tony to follow them to the garage. Walking away from Kate, Tony glanced over his shoulder looking at Kate staring at the picture on his computer. He knew he **had** to be careful; he didn't want to blow his chances with Kate by doing something stupid…like dying.

* * *

Gibbs opened the truck's door as McGee brought it to a stop. The sun was high in the sky, turning the asphalt beneath their feet into an oversized stove. Gibbs glanced at his watch which read 4:28pm; _'two minutes…the bastard better not be late,' _he thought to himself. Two minutes later a modern, box-like, low riding sports car pulled around the curb. The man who got out of the car appeared to be Jake Meyers; he was tall, business-like, dressed in a jacket, dress shirt and tie and dark grey sunglasses hid his green eyes. 

"You're early…" Jake said curtly, no emotion to be found.

"No," Gibbs snapped, "I believe you're late."

"What did you want to talk about?" he asked, changing the subject.

"We know you're sitting on a bigger operation here," Gibbs growled, "we know about the murders."

"You can't prove anything about me or my company," Jake snarled, nervousness creeping into his tone.

"McGee! DiNozzo!" he snapped, "search the buildings and the alleys of the four surrounding blocks."

Jake waiting until the two men were out of ear shot, "that's very brave…sending away your back-up like that."

"I don't need back-up," Gibbs said between clenched teeth, "I can take you myself."

"So where's the third member of your team..?" he began, "Kaitlin was it?"

"I made her stay home, due to the nature of such a case…I didn't trust her to take you out in the way I wanted to," Gibbs barked. His tone saying just how much he needed to get rid of this _bastard_ that was causing Kate so much pain.

"She's a big girl…she can get past such hard decisions easily, but me…I don't forget the animal need for revenge," Jake snarled, drawing the gun he had stored in the small of his back.

"Just because you lost your brother, meant she needed to lose hers?" Gibbs asked, keeping his cool, knowing the type he was dealing with, "she's bigger than that…but obviously you aren't."

The tension was building faster by the second as he cocked the gun, preparing to shoot. Gibbs swallowed slowly, planning his next move; all actions halted when a second car screeched around the corner.

"Real big, Meyers, you can't finish a job so your buddy has to come and rescue you before you can even decide whether you're making the right decision," Gibbs snapped.

The car screeched to a halt, the driver kept in the shadows by the contours of the body shape. Gibbs watch the uneasiness travel across Jake's face as realization set in; holding a federal agent at gun point was obviously something he'd never planned on doing. With a sudden movement, Jake jerked and pulled the trigger, the bullet lodging itself in Gibbs' shoulder. Gibbs opened his mouth to call DiNozzo's name, but nothing came out; he tried again, and the young agent appeared at the corner of the street just as Jake dove into the backseat of the car.

"DiNozzo! Get your ass out here!" Gibbs choked out as loud as he could. To his relief, Tony appeared on the street corner and ran into the street, gun drawn. Gibbs smiled to himself, _"just as I taught him." _Standing in front of the car, he held out his gun and fired two shots, barely flinching. After the second, the car swerved slightly but remained on course as if the driver had been injured but not killed. Noticing this Tony fired three more into the windshield, causing the glass to crack resisting the need to shatter. The car gained speed, barreling into Tony's side before he had time to react. Tony fell against the pavement, no resistance left in his body to soften the second impact. Just in front of him, the car swerved erratically hitting the nearby telephone pole.

"DiNozzo!" Gibbs called, running towards Tony and the now totaled car. Tony groaned in response, enough to let his boss know he would be alright. Holding his gun steady he examined the driver and the passenger; the passengers head lay down against his chest, dead. Confirming the observation by pressing his forefinger against the driver's neck, he kept the gun aimed at Jake in the back seat. Knowing the accident caused the doors to jam, Gibbs knew Jake had no where to go. He couldn't help but grin at the sight of Jake sprawled on the floor of the back seat, having fallen there from the impact of the head on collision.

"McGee!" Gibbs barked, grasping his shoulder, still aiming at Jake, "call an ambulance, the police and the fire department, we have to clean up after ourselves."

"Sure thing boss," he said pulling out his cell phone. After muttering their location to the dispatcher, McGee turned his attention to Tony. In what seemed to be five minutes, the team could hear distant sirens.

"Tell…Kate…" was all Tony could get out coherently, and the younger agent understood exactly what he wanted. The emergency trucks seemed to arrive at the same time. The police relieved Gibb's of his position, holding Jake to the confines of the car while the fire department worked on the roof. Within minutes, the door was off the hinge and Jake was in police custody.

When the second ambulance arrived, the EMT's went to Gibbs for orders, who barked that he should be second to be cared for; Tony was in worse condition. Gibbs yelled again when the police informed him that Jake would remain police custody. Gibbs knew he wouldn't be able to bring him into autopsy, he'd missed that chance, but he knew for sure that he wanted him brought to headquarters as soon as possible. Gibbs watched the events unfold around him as he flinched against the sharp pain coursing through his arm. Gibbs watched the EMT's carefully as they hovered over Tony, placing him carefully on a gurney to wheel back to the ambulance.

"Call headquarters, tell Kate where they're taking us, and make sure Jake ends up within the same hospital where we end up," Gibbs growled, eyeing the bandage on his shoulder that was slowly turning red.

"Sure thing boss…" McGee replied, climbing into the ambulance next to his boss.


	23. Epilogue

**Epilogue**

Kate gasped as she entered her partner's hospital room. She stood still for a few minutes, stunned at her partner's state; knowing that all the hospital machinery made Tony look worse off than he really was. She hadn't meant to cry, she didn't even notice the tears falling, but they were. She choked back a few sobs, trying to be strong; knowing he'd tease her relentlessly for disturbing him she quietly stepped closer. As if he could feel her presence in the room, he opened his eyes and turned slightly to look at her.

"Hi," he said, his voice coming out low and raspy. That did it, she nearly fell apart right there.

"Hi," she said, smiling through her tears, "don't scare me like that…ever…ok?"

She could tell he tried to laugh, but it brought him pain; his grin stayed plastered on his face. It was then that she knew pushing him away was the stupidest thing she'd ever decided to do. Slowly she sat down on his bed, and took his hand in hers; she felt her entire body warm with the simple contact.

"I'm sorry…" she said, as her tears flowed freely down her cheeks, "if I'd never gotten involved…"

"Shhhh…it's not your fault…" Tony whispered, reaching up to touch her cheek, "you didn't know what kind of family he had."

She leaned into him, wanting to be close but immediately pulled back when she heard him groan with pain.

"I'm sorry!" she exclaimed quietly, adjusting her position so she wouldn't hurt him again.

He laughed quietly, "You keep saying that…what for?"

"For more reasons than I care to admit," she said quietly, speaking against the cloth of the hospital sheets. He then tilted her chin up to look at him; he remained silent inviting her to continue.

"I'm sorry for ever getting involved with Eric, I'm sorry for not realizing how you really saw me sooner, and most of all I'm sorry for pushing you away like I did," she whispered, still gazing into his green eyes. She then shifted her weight towards him, kissing him deeply to make sure he knew how much she cared for him.

"Does this mean we have to tell Gibbs?" he asked, smiling widely.

"You know, DiNozzo, I think he already knows," Kate said, returning his grin.


End file.
